Usually, around the first of the year I will do a retrospective about the previous year. I am doing this a month early this year because I have the time right now. The year has had ups and downs, but the past month has been the worst in my history of driving. It all came together this morning with the new month. My heater is still not working, now, not at all. My forward facing camera broke loose, and I did not make enough miles for my Love's perks. All-in-all, a very negative experience. But I am rising to the challenge. I will deal with the cold, because I am not convinced that our shops can fix it. For the camera, I am putting it back in place while I am stopped, and ignoring it while i am driving. That may work against me, but I am only two days from home. For the Love's issue, Laura and I are working on a plan so I don't need it. So all handled. BooYa.
I left Commerce GA with enough time to make the drop and then jump over to pick up my Clorox load.The unload at Blue Buffalo took about two hours, and that worked out fine because it put me at Clorox right on time. This was listed as a live load, but it was actually a pre-loaded trailer, that was not pre-loaded. So it turned into a live load anyway. And then it became a basket full of kittens. Angry kittens. Angry mutant kittens on a search for the blood of the innocent. But I may be overracting. The loading process took about five hours, and then another hour just to get back out of the gate because Clorox, operated by DHL, had ONE person manning all four lanes. And it was getting people angry. I finally got out of there, using my sleeper berth option, and rolled as far as I could, reaching all the way into tomorrow when I landed in Olive Branch, MS at the terminal, about 200 miles beyond where I was trying to get to. That puts me at about 360 miles away from the drop, but there is no chance in hell of making hometime on time.

About hometime

There is a lot of emphisis on the fact that we, as drivers, must work in a professional matter and make our appointments on time. The planners make sure that they plan extra time (usually) into the runs to assure that we make these appointments. This often leaves us sitting in a truck stop or the side of the road waiting for these appointments. But they do not seem to take the same pride in getting us home. At this point, I will get home about half a day late, and that does not sound like much, but when you try to make plans around what is SUPPOSED to be, v. what actually is, it kinda suck. This is not just with Variant, it is logistics as a whole. Shrugs.

The beginning of the race

December 2, 2022

A not a meditation

In November, I had a lot of fun with the meditation and perspective artwork. It gave me a lot of insight into myself. I think that is pretty cool. I bet that there is a social science that could be built around the idea, but I don't have that much drive. So that brings us to today. I offer you a cat. Granted, it is a colorful cat with some misplaced parts, but still a cat. It is just the hodge-podge remnants of the filters that I did not use last month, combined with a random image of a generic cat. I love the creative process. Even though I am grumpy cat right now, this little glimpse into my artistic mind does not reflect anything at all, other than the use of tools.

Running for home

I am actually very pissed off that they messed with my hometime. There are so many ways that this could have been avoided, but it comes down to what is important to the company. Obviously, that is not meeting the needs of the driver. But that is (hopefully) the last that I am going to say on the subject. I am rolling hard to get home as soon as possible. Today I drop in Bentonville, AR, about 360 miles from the home terminal. What are the going to do with me from there? Time will tell.

Plans for hometime

I have been bracing up my plans for hometime, but my mind just can't bring it together. I am hoping that it will be better once I actually get there. But we shall see. I know that I want to finish up the downstairs bathroom and maybe do some serious yard work. But beyond that, aside from finishing up the last two weeks of school, I am not sure what I will do. Dammit!

And...HOME

It was, for the most part, a calm day. I did the final run for the border into Olive Branch. There was some interesting news from work. The have done away with the full-ride program, the program that allows drivers and their families to get an education at no charge. I feel that this is a very negative move on the part of the company. They state the cost and a lack of interest. They only have about 100 participants. But when you think about it, that is a significant number. I do not think that it is going to go over well.

The endgame

On my final drive, I was able to finish my current book, Shooter by John Grisham. I got to the terminal, cleaned and packed up the truck, and Laura was there about 30 minutes later. Good timing. We hit Starbucks on the way home, and then it was back to the house, dinner and sleep. Not a terrible day, and only about six hour late getting home.

For the next couple of days, there will not be a work section because I am on, you guessed it, HOMETIME. Joy! It is good to be home, and I have been rolling very tired lately. So I am hoping that over the next couple of days, I will be able to get some rest and reset. To be honest, this past tour of duty has been the worst that I have had since I started with USXI / Variant. It was nothing but long docks, break-downs, and other delays. It was difficult to maintain a positive state of mind. Now that I am home, I am hoping that I can get the old brain back into order and go from there.

The roll of the day

I did not sleep that well, but I think that was the old brain trolling through the thought that I usually only come home for about 72 hours and I am in the mindset. I know that is not the way it is, but my brain does not want to accept that, yet. I will get there. So I got up and got into motion. I knocked out a few important things right away. I got my Yoga, meditation, and exercise out of the way and then updated the journals and blogs. That caught me up with the stuff that I have been slacking on for the past few days. Then I tackled the shredder. Something got jammed in it and the wheels were moving, but it would not shred. It took about an hour, but I got it cleared. I got my new audiobooks downloaded and got all my emails cleared. That did not take nearly as long as I planned, so I set up the rest of the day.

A sidestep

I have a few days off, so I could take one day and just blow it. So I chose to watch a long movie. I could not find anything that interested me, then I found a Netflix original series, six episodes of a limited release only. It was called Elves and it was a poorly dubbed Danish film series. The premise was interesting. SPOILER ALERT. The story was about a family of four that takes a Christmas vacation on a remote, sparsely inhabited island near Copenhagen. There is very little plot development, little or no character development, and the storyline is questionable. But that did not bother me because I am getting used to seeing that on these Netflix and Hulu releases. What bothered me is human nature. The characters do not react like normal people. Granted, I have never been dropped on a remote island run by a cult-like society with carnivorous tree elves behind an electric fence, but I am pretty sure that this is not something I would accept without question. And if my son or daughter were taken, I am pretty sure that I would not just argue over simple things outside of the immediate problem of retrieving the kiddies. All-in-all it was a nice distraction, but I am questioning myself as a writer. I wonder if I am trying too hard. Something to ponder.

Today will probably be a boring read for most of you. And it will be short. Today was a home day, and I spent most of it relaxing and setting my hometime groove before I use the rest of the week to powerhouse through things. But today, Laura and I went shopping at Aldi's and Dollar General to get the basics for my new way of cooking. I think that we did pretty well, and I should only have a few things to pick up at Walmart tomorrow.

It is catching up to me

At work, I push myself, often right to the limits. Being home, I get time to relax, and my mind and body are taking advantage of that. I am lethargic and tired as hell. But that is okay, I will get adjusted, probably just in time to go back to work. All in all, a pretty calm day. Normal stuff like exercise, Yoga, and meditation, then sitting around the house all day. I did get my week five paper done for school, which leaves one paper and one discussion in this course. Then it is on to homeland security and the end of my degree. I am also working on a piece of art, maybe for tomorrow. We shall see.

A retrospective?

The world is a broken place. But there are good things in it, and we are not beyond repair, at least not yet. So I took the time this morning to let the world talk to me and show me that she is broken. The result is this piece that I have been working on both yesterday and today. It is a generic ginger girl, reposed with Daz3D and then dropped into photoshop and run through about ten different filters. I think that it came out pretty well.

Got my land legs

Starting this morning, I bolted out of the gate. But that did not last long. I am still fighting the good fight against Grumpy Cat. However, by the end of the day, I think that I have managed to beat him down with a stick. I did not get a lot done, mostly because everything that I tried met with obstacles that did not want to be overcome. By the end of the day, I finally just gave in, watched Falling for Christmas on Netflix, at a wonderful dinner that Laura and Willow picked up, and set my sights on tomorrow.

A Commentary

You did not think that I would go a week without something controversial jumping in here, did you? On the positive side of the coin, Trump and his businesses have been found guilty of Tax Fraud, 17 counts. I doubt anything will come of this, but it is a minor victory. Warnock took Georgia. That is pretty good for a blue man in a red state. But I saw some back page news about some disturbing things. Canada and the United States are starting to come down on adult parties and sites in a very unusual matter. The collective They, meaning those that pull the strings, have cited the adult industry as unsafe because of their links to terrorism, antisemitism, and all kinds of nasty negative social impact events. As such, the banks that provide support services to these industries are canceling their long-held accounts as TOO Risky. Now, the problem with this is that the accusations are being made without any proof or facts of the connections between the industries and these horrible social problems and criminal acts. Ms. Love, Bree Olsen, CoedCherry, Jodi Taylor, Robbie Echo, Ninn Works productions, and many others are in or recently out of the adult arena. The commentary is this: Everyone that I listed here is outspoken about the state of the United States, Canada, and the world. Some of them contribute massive amounts of money to organizations such as Amnesty International and other world-affecting groups. There have never been any links to terrorism, hate crimes (except as victims from the moral majority), or anything else other than shaking their money-makers for the world to see. I can't help but wonder why no one is standing up and asking WHY this industry is being targeted. It is just a point of curiosity, especially in a country that carries the freedom of speech and expression as a banner. Hmmmm

Wow that took a long time to get past the grumpy cat. But I think that I am finally there. Since I got onto home-time, I have been lethargic with no will to get anything done at all. I really don't see how those that sit at home all day doing nothing manage to do it. It boggles the mind. But I am past that now. I really was not feeling well for most of the day, a bit of a headache that came and went, and an overwhelming desire to just go back to sleep for a while. But I fought past that, and realize that it was the tail end of this very bad mood that I have been riding for the past few weeks. I sucked it up, got over myself, cleared a majority of my home-table (where I put my stuff when I come home until I work through it), got the scooter fixed, worked the visual media for my storage drive, and then....bum bum bum....sanded down the downstairs bathroom, prepping it for painting. Granted, we don't have the paint, but it is ready to rock and roll when we are ready to paint. I am going to count it as a win.

The final full day home and then it is time to get back to the grind. I finally got a preassignment that is going to have me heading back into New England early next week. I spent the day finalizing things, spending some family time, and just relaxing. I think that I am ready for the end of the year. We shall see. I did not get a whole lot done on my home-time, but I think that I am satisfied with it, so that is something. Tomorrow, I will be back to the normal entries with the work block and all. We shall see what the next 42 days bring.

This is a delayed entry because of school. But I took notes so it is all good. Normally, on the account that I am running, C.H. Robinson, I get my weekends off. But today, Friday, I was back on the truck very early in the morning. Because of the new setup, it took hours to set up and configure the truck. Fun times. My pre-assignment is for pickup tomorrow morning in Jonesboro, AR. about 90 minutes away. So it's all good. I spent the day cleaning and organizing the truck. I was able to get everything in place, secure the coffee pots, and make a food plan. Not terrible for working-non-work day.

The calm before the storm

As it says above, most of the day was setting up the truck. I rolled some relaxing music in the background while I was working and got everything set up in a few hours. Then it was time to work on school. I double-checked the discussion group and started setting up my paper. It is going to be a rough one. But I am running 100%, so it should not be a problem. I was a bit moody, but at least I didn't have to sit until Monday with nothing to do. So I took a bit of time to relax.

Back on the road

I was up a bit early and got my morning routine done which included my Yoga, exercise, meditation, and food. I read the rest of my book for school and I am fully prepared for my paper, now I just have to write it. I started the Heinlein book Revolt in 2100 and I am not really into it, but I will read it. When I shut down at Love's, I had only one bar of internet, but I was tired. So I wrote the outline to my paper and headed off to bed.

Back on the road

It is good to be back on the road. I did about 11 hours today and rolled into Virginia before I shut down. I had a bit of extra time, so I pushed hard on my paper, finished it, and uploaded it. It was one hell of a paper and it included one hell of a challenge with formatting in Microsoft Word. But I got it done and set across, and now I just have to wait for my final grade. I was feeling a bit moody, the starting of the grumpy cat, but I think that I have it under control. It is just a mood based on things not going quite as planned. So I think that once things calm down and get unweird, I will be able to stabilize. Tomorrow, I have a choice to make about how to run, but for now, I just relaxed, put on some calming music, and let myself drift off.

Extended time

Since I had about 20 hours off before I had to roll into Monrovia, MD. to drop, I shut down and reworked my morning. I did an extra yoga session, another exercise session, and a long meditation. I think that the extra helped me put the grumpy cat back in the cage. I caught up all the blogs, seasoned my chicken for dinner, and rolled some Quinton Tarantino movies in the background. That dude is weird. I rolled Planet Terror and Death Proof . and they were strange as hell. Granted, both of them starred Rose McGowen before her prudish stage, and Death Proof has Rosario Dawson. They were kinda funny.

Come sit by my fire

There is an old Native American saying that goes Come sit by my fire and it means know me, peer into my soul. This month, it took me a while to figure out what I was going to do with the photography site for the month of December, and since the new year is right around the corner, I give you a chance to take a look within me if you dare. I finally got the time together to get the new page up on the Gallery site at AncientPathway.NET - The December Gallery of Christopher Klein. If you venture over there, you will find 12 things that inspire me, keep me motivated, or in other ways, help me get through the day. Some are easy to figure out because they are things that I talk about quite a bit. Others may surprise you. Take a look if you would like.

Another brick in the wall

I finally got my last paper and posts in for my comparative criminology course, which is now complete, just pending my final grades. Completing that course is a milestone because my three courses make up my specialization in Homeland Security and then my Capstone. Then I am done with my final college course. That will be my 3rd Master's degree, plus a bachelor's. Not bad for an old man, eh? Then it is time to put them to use.

The coming year

I think that I have finally put together all the plans for 2023. The big milestone is, of course, moving to Colorado. However, I also have a plan that should allow me to develop 12 new skills to add to my resume and get THREE books published by the end of the year. I have them in timetables; as long as I don't slack off, they should be doable. I am not worried about doing three that close together because they do not compete with one another. One is short stories, one is fantasy, and the other is a political commentary. They are in different markets.

The end of the day

It took about five hours to get everything caught up and build the December photo site. Then I took some time to read a real book for a while. I love my audiobooks, but sometimes, it is nice just to dig in and read something fun. I chose a French tome, in French, about a lost kitty. I know, I know, it is a children's book, but hey, I am still learning. I had to look a few words up, but it was fun. Then it was time to cook dinner. General Tso's chicken, baked potatoes, and stir fry veggies. Yummy. Then a Christmas Favorite, Miracle on 34th Street, the black and white one from 1947. A nice way to relax. The night ended with some saxophone, violin, and then relaxing music. I count this as a good day. And the grumpy cat is hibernating....for now.

People are angry

I cannot watch or listen to the news, or turn on Facebook, or do anything without hearing that someone shot someone else. Everyday, I see this in truck stops, angry people arguing over nothing at all. Silly things. We are hitting a critical mass in this country and around the world. I cannot help but wonder where the breaking point is, and what is going to happen when we touch that point. We see our leaders talking about the Middle East and nuclear action. We hear Russia playing with the idea of bombing Ukraine to oblivion. What gives these people the right to lead the world down a path of terror? What are we putting up with it? There is such beauty in the world, such wonder, such magnificence. And people would destroy that. Why? What is the catalyst? What is causing such fear and loathing? What is turning us into the barbarians that we left in history hundreds of years ago? And how can we stop it?

Okay, that was a little dark

As I sat in Proctor and Gamble, waiting for my load to be ready, I caught up on my back e-mails, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms. The new thing, or at least recently-reborn thing, is stupid videos that suck time like a succubus sucking the soul out of a willing victim. They are peacokcing videos with no purpose or point other than to shake your tail, do something stupid, or make fun of someone while you laugh maniacly over the visions that you offer. And people watch these for hours. Think of what we could accomplish if everyone that did one of these insults to the mental stablity of the world, were to teach something. It doesn't have to be something life-changing. Just something. How to make a cooper rose. How to apply smokey eye makeup. How to fix a broken tile in your bathroom. How to ride a bike, or fly a ballon, or pet a cat properly. You want manical laughter? Take a video of a baby laughing. You want silly? Introduce a duckling to a kitten. Just give something to the world other than shaking your ta ta's, thrusting your pelvis, or playing a joke on your signficant other that makes you think that you are cheating on him.

Way too much time to think

In case you did not figure it out, I got sucked into the soul-sucking void that is anti-information. But that is okay, it is behind me now. I pulled out my 2023 planning books, made a cup of Vanilla Chai tea and got down to business. Yes, I think that my IQ may have dropped a few points watching the junk, but I am back on track.

Thinking ahead

I am thinking ahead to January. I enjoyed the November photography experience and let you all take a peek at the meditative phases that are me. And after putting the photos on yesterday, I received quite a few positive responses. I even introduced a few of you to Halestorm and The Pretty Recklass. Just as a side note, the lead singer of the Pretty Reckless is Taylor Momsen, also known as Cindy Lou Who in the live actions Grinch movie. There is something that you know now. Boy, did she grow up. I guess she did grow into that nose... (That is a line from the movie). And if you like those two groups, check out Dorothy and her song Rest in Peace. It's not bad at all. I guess I am going through my rocker girl phase right now. Shrugs.

An annoyance

I get these calls all the time. People that are so very interested in buying my house. I am always polite and explain that I will not sell to investors because of the methods they use that drive prices in neighborhoods up while degrading the properties through their failure to maintain, failure to vet renters, etc. Usually, I say NO, and they go away. Today, I got a text from a young lady named Sandy with the same speil. As soon as I texted back that I was not interested because I won't sell to investors because of the negative impact on neighborhoods, she actually picked up the phone and called me. She explained that she was different from other investors. I asked if she would raise the rent. Based on the property, she said it would not go any higher than $2300 a month, which is (in her opinion) reasonable. I explained to her that $2300 is two working adults at $14.38 an hour working 40 hours a week just to afford the rent. Then she blew it. Obviously, they would not take that kind of riff-raff and would target a higher class of tenants. I then asked her what she thought I did for a living. From my profile, I am a system engineer. ROFL - that is my education profile. I explained that I was a TRUCK DRIVER and the type of riff-raff she was trying to keep out and that without me and those like me, she would not have food on her table, toilet paper to wipe her ass, or anything else. She tried to apologize because she may have been misunderstood. I was done at that point, wished her a good day, and hoped a trucker strike on her. Oye vey, some people.

Once more into the breach

It appears that today is a day to wax poetic, at least here and there. As the personal stuff goes, I pretty much grabbed a nap every chance I could get until I hit the Travel America in Ashland, VA. I got there and figured my time for tomorrow and found that I had a few hours extra. Maybe about five or so. So I was going to grab some food from Country Pride. No fire there, because they are closed, and the only other options were Chester's or Pizza Hut. I opted for truck food. I made myself BBQ chicken, Baked potatoes, and Brussel Sprouts. It was pretty good. It took about an hour to cook, so that is not terrible. Then I relaxed and meditated the evening away. I did not rush myself on projects and all, and figured that I have my weekend run coming up when I will get things done. So today was the day of rest. Tomorrow is another day.

And, North we go

As of today, I have been back on the road for six days. It feels more like six weeks. I just can't seem to get my wheels under me, which is getting annoying. My weekend run will be into Wisconsin, so I hope that may change things a bit. But we shall see. The day was getting to me, rain all the way into New York, and the temperature was dropping. They are expecting serious winter weather Thursday night - Saturday night. They have all kinds of public works trucks out doing prep. But for me, the day grated on my nerves. It made me tired and grumpy. Like I need something else to make me grumpy.
I stared off into space while I was in the dock, and then headed over to the Pilot. I pulled fish, steak, chicken and pork from the freezer, but none of it was defrosted, so I wandered to the Pilot to try to get some pizza or something. I got myself some truck-stop Sushi and some orange juice. Both were pretty good for what they were. A bit pricey on the sushi, but it was decent. I got the orange juice because I am fighting a bit of the beginnings of a cold. And that sucks when you are a driver.

The coming of tomorrow

I have my pre-assignment and it is loaded. Tomorrow, I head into Bayonne, NJ and get loaded toward Wisconsin for a Monday delivery. That is about 900 miles including the empty miles from New York. So I will hit Bayonne, get loaded, and then head East. My fuel stop is in Hubbard, OH, and I guess I could stop there for 34, but I might try for the Springfield terminal. We shall see.

Once more into the breach

Oh look at me with the quotes on the headers. Don't worry, I will stop. Maybe. But for now, onward and upward. The morning was routine, with exercise, an extended meditation, Yoga, and a good meal to start out. The day was also routine.

Coffee With Ghosts

I offer a shout out to all of those that commented on my November artwork. I know that I have been lax a bit this month with no visuals. So I took the time this morning to make a cute one. I call it Coffee with Ghosts and it does not have some evil implcations or underlying theme. It was just what I was able to freehand with my digital pad. I like the way that it came out.

Ending the day

I shut down about an hour earlier than I anticipated because my eyes were just going buggy. I can make it up tomorrow. I am in Snow Shoe, PA., about 10.5 hours from my Monday drop, but I will try to roll North of Chicago tomorrow. that should put me within an hour of the receiver and allow me to shut down for about 40 hours, ending this eternal week. I have a LOT to get done because this is Christmas week we are going into and I have no idea what the week will bring. I got my final grade on Comparative Criminal Justice, a 100% for the course. That means that I have three classes, plus my capstone, and then I am done with this degree. I am looking forward to it. But as such, I have my old papers from both schools with me, and they are going up here on Triumph in a new section. Of course, that means creating the new section, etc. I also have to set up the 2023 journey pages, the photo site, etc. I am going to get into a Love's, hook in the Roku, roll some relaxing music, and work my ass off. Plus, I have some excellent meals prepped or breaktime. I am looking forward to it.

Once more into the breach

Colorful Demoness

So, I am back into the artwork. This is a stock image of a bikini girl advertisement run through a hippy filter and then tweaked with my digital pad. I seriously modified the face to give more of a demon look, and I have no idea why. I included a random splatter for that splash effect. A special thank you to Becca. She suggested I take some of my more interesting works and put them for sale as prints. I am going to consider that. I already have a PicFair account, and I will consider adding some of these there. We shall see.

It's a day

Anywho. Today was a run through the fog, ice, rain, and overcast skies that were dragging at my soul like some soul-sucking succubus. Luckily, I am mostly immune to things like that, assuming I can find the time to meditate it away. And I may have that time. It was a rough day driving, but I made it into Antioch, IL, right on the Wisconsin line and within an hour of my drop for Monday. That gives me about 40 hours to rest and recooperorate, and I seriously need it after this week. I feel like I have been back on the road for months, and it has been only eight days. When I hit the Love's, I was beyond exhausted. I cooked up the last of my truck hot dogs, ate them, and drifted off to sleep. The heater in the bunk is still not working right, but I have my heating blanket and my sweats, so it was all good. I got a nice 7-hour nap, then got up a bit before midnight to start my Sunday. I have a lot to do. But maybe you will get another piece of artwork. We shall see.

Mixed Media - sort of

To date, most of the artwork has been a base image; usually a photograph, run through a series of Adobe Photoshop filters. Except for things like Ghosts with coffee, anything that contains a human is based on something that already exists. Until today. I love my photoshop tutorials and filters and all. But I wanted to step a bit further into creativity. So here we have a composite image from Photoshop, with a model based in Daz3D (the core model Genesis 8) and modified in Blender. I think it came out pretty well. Anyone that wants to buy me some more Daz3D models, I would not say NO :) Those damn things are expensive.

A Productive day off

My day started at midnight. I was so tired when I hit Antioch, IL., last night that I ate some doggies and went right to bed. I was up at midnight and broke into the day. I got my email out of the way and the journals. I did the above artwork by running Daz3D, Blender, and Photoshop side by side. Not terrible! Then it was time to roll a round robin with Pandora running in the background.

An Op-Ed

I use my 34-hour breaks to catch up on the news. Oye, I am glad I do at the beginning so that I have time to recover from the mind-numbing ignorance of some people in the world. Look, I do not care if you are a Conservative or a Liberal. I don't care if you are a fortune 500 business jockey or a good ole boy southern redneck. I don't care if you are a Democrat or Republican, black, white, red, or green. I don't care if you have a million dollars in the bank or search the sofa cushions for changes to buy a taco. Be a good person. Have empathy, compassion, and for the love of all the old gods; when someone is in trouble, take a moment to see if you can help. We are so busy in fighting against each other that we don't see this world burning down around us. Stop, look, listen - do something to make things better. Just once a day, say something nice to someone for no reason at all. Hand a stranger a flower. Give a smile to someone that does not have one of their own. Stop all this hate. Please.

Okay, that is out of my system.

What brought that on? It's very simple. Blood leads - the old journalist tenant. If it bleeds, it leads, meaning you need to take the most horrible thing you can find and slap it on the front page. I disagree; give me a picture of a little piggy-tailed girl offering an ice cream cone to a squirrel in a park. But that is my opinion. I read 10 pages of Headlines, and there was not a single article that was positive. Pfft.

And on we go...

As I am sure you can tell, the first thing I did was catch up on the last 8 days' worth of news. I have not had time since I got back on the road to go through my feeds. Then it was on to some artwork. So, that being said, I offer you CATS. Because who can't love a few cats?

A story of three cats

Obviously, these are photoshop pieces. From left to right. I started with a stock image of a grey kitten. I smudged and skewed it, changed the eyes to more of a glow, then added a generic background. The center one is a line art, just using different brushes. I had some trouble with the nose, but it eventually came out. That is something that I am going to have to work on. I had to add the green eyes against the stark greyscale. The right image is a stained glass modification of an Orange tabby stock image with an oversized New York street Corner. Ironically, the bottom-right foreground is actually a trash bag. Nice stained glass filter. Of course, in context, that orange kitty is about 13 feet tall. ROFL. And with the three-hour creation of kitties, my mood is nice and balanced again. Kitties cure-all.

The rest of the day

My biggest worry was that I would do the bump-on-a-log thing. But I got past that fast. I took an early nap then did about two hours of French, violin, Saxophone, and then the rest of the day was spent working on the 2023 lists. I got the 2023 blogs set up and the back blogs configured. Now I just need to enter all the information. I will count this as a decent day.

Sit by the fire

To answer a few questions I have received lately, the images you have been looking at are not white screen-up drawings. They are composites using existing materials, photographs and resources. For instance, the above image uses a stock background, modified from day view to night view, three existing fire images and a GLOW filter, a picture of my wife in her favorite dress, heavily modified, and the addition of an imported second image of pants. Finally, a spectral image filter on the face removes the detail. So, while these are original works, they include pre-made resources from common libraries or my own libraries.
Today's Image The wife makes me think of home. Home makes me think of fire. I put the two images together.

Back on the roll.

It went into the low teens last night, but I survived and I was up and in motion right on time. I worked through the morning routine and started working on the NEW routine for 2023. Fun times.

Into Indiana

A pretty routine day, ending at the Love's in Knightstown, IN. I was not feeling great for most of the day, but it is a sinus thing. When I shut down at the Love's, I calculated the rest of the trip, and then made dinner. I made Steak with chuck potatoes. It took about 45 minutes and came out excellent. Then it was off to sleep. I have about a 10 hour run tomorrow and can make it to within a few miles of my drop for Wednesday. So if I can roll right, I should get some extra time tomorrow.

Jenna Ortega - Wednesday

I am trying to hone my photoshop skills. This is a black-and-white rendition of Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams. In this case, it was a wire-frame import and then brush modification. It was not hard to take to mostly black-and-white because the character is mostly monotone. I did some faux dodge and burn-in to add depth and highlights. I like it.

Using the time

I had a mental poot today. While I was talking to Laura, she mentioned something about our Amazon prime account and a movie that she purchased. I pointed out that she had already purchased a couple of other movies. She said that I must have already read her email that included that information. That was the POOT because I did not remember reading the email. However, when I stopped for the day, I read the email, which Yahoo had marked as unread, and I remembered reading it but did not remember reading it. It tossed me into a negative mental space to the point where I went all OCD and started taking online tests to gauge my cognitive abilities. The old grey matter is fine, but it tossed me into a something is wrong state of mind. I took about two dozen tests, passed them all, and then realized at long last, what my problem was. I got obsessed with the problem. ROFL a self-fulfilling problem. And I am feeling much better now....

Anyway...

All said and done, I wasted about 3 hours of my extra time on the mental poot. Laura had the best explanation. We may have discussed this previously, and while I was on Prime, I noticed them subconsciously. It was just a coincidence that she mentioned it, I remembered it from seeing it, and I got obsessed over something silly. I am pretty sure that I am not going crazy, at least not yet. So, I redirected my energies away from trying to prove or disprove my mental state, did my artwork, and then jumped into some writing. That was a nice way to round out the day. I caught up on my Yoga, exercise, and meditation and then ended with some of my 2023 project work. I have my next course for Arizona Global set up, and I am ready to get started next week. I also started cataloging photos for the portfolio site and organizing the files that I had to start moving. The day's finale was double-checking the papers from my Bachelor's and first two Master's degrees to get them ready to go online. What a day.

Getting my freak on

The wife likes the monotone full-frame things. And I am starting to as well. However, there are sometimes that you have to get your freak on. Today is my equivalent of tossing paint balloons on a canvas. No theme, no intent. Just freaky madness flowing outward.

Grumble groan

I am ready for a break. As you can see in the work section, things are rolling tight right now and it is annoying the hell out of me. I rolled hard. I ddi take a small nap while I was in Roxboro waiting for operations to figure out what was going on. But I am rolling very tired. I kept going until I hit Marion, NC. I was going to stop in the Love's there, but it is only about 20 spaces and I was not in the mood for that. So I kept going to the rest area. I cooked my Pork, with BBQ sauce and watched a random show that I could not remember right after I turned it off. For the most part, it was an okay day, but I am dreading the weekend. I am heading over to Jonesboro, but there is a cold snap coming in with me. I did not want to tackle Black Mountain on I40 tonight, so I will have to do that first thing in the morning. Then run across Tennessee. Assuming the cold doesn't do anythign nasty to me, I drop off on Friday in Jonesboro, pop over to Memphis, and pick up a load going to Baltimore, Maryland, for Tuesday. Fun times. But all this could change. Right?

Into the cold

Not a great day to start with. I overslept and did not have time for the morning routine. I had to do micro-events of Yoga, Meditation, and exercise. And that is never a good way to start the day. I have started reading Triptych by Karin Slaughter, and I am really having problems with it. The base storyline involved child molestation, and though non-graphic and in context.....(shakes the head)...But it actually turned out to be an interesting novel. There was little or no emphasis put on the actual actions of the criminals, and the plot was multi-faceted with a lot of unexpected twists during the journey. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Shutdown in the cold

I am glad that I got off the road when I did. The weather became horrible. Very strong winds, blinding snow, and bitter cold. But I was fueled and parked well before that happened. I did get a cancellation on my pre-assignment going into Maryland over the and I am not sure what is going to happen with that one. There was a secondary pre-assignment going 1100 miles into New York State over six days. But that went away as well. So this may get interesting. But I am staged to go into my receiver first thing in the morning and we will go from there.

More Camera Woes

So, this evening, Jonesboro was plunged into a crystaline wasteland. It was beautiful. I bundled up, grabbed my camera, and set out into the night. But sure enough, as soon as I hit the shutter, I heard the tell-tale crunch as the shutter jammed again. I stood for a moment, and almost...I mean ALMOST...tossed it out into the snow and ice. So no cool ice pictures for you. Sorry.

School

I got a call from Adela from Arizona Global to give me some insight on the new class. She actually called to double check times and make sure that I was okay with a January 3, 2023 start date. I am, of course. We discussed some personal stuff and then the course. It is going to be a hum-dinger. She showed me how to access the course syllabus along with all the projects, discussion posts, and assignments. It also gave me the names of the TWO texts books and what turns out to be close to 400 cited references for the course. It is going to be one hell of a course. But I downloaded a lot of the information so I have some serious reading to do. I am going to have to fight for my 4.0 with this course. But I am not worried.

Mental Balance

How do you overcome a broken camera in an ice storm? You fire up your Roku, turn on Magical Land of the Leprechans and get over it. I watched both halfs and then headed off to bed. I love that movie. By the time I shut down, it was almost 0 degrees, so I cranked the engine, turned on the heat and went to sleep. Not a terrible day.

Expressing the mood

The mood took a hit today and I am sure that this is caused by the extended sitting that I have been doing. I have a LOT to read for the upcomming class, but that is not helping. So I channeled the dark mood into this image. I kinda like it.

Bitter and blinking

Fun morning. It was close to zero degrees when I woke up, and the electricity was out in Love's. Luckily, I have coffee and food on the truck. There are advantages to being self-contained. So I broke into the morning routine. Yoga, Violin, meditation, exercise, blogs, emails, and such. I took it easy. I checked the power grid, and the receiver is on the same grid as Love's. So I was watching carefully. I got a better run for Mass. instead of New York and spent some time trying to fix my camera. I don't have the patience right now, so I will try again over the weekend. The New York run was replaced with a New Jersey run, which I am not sure about, mood-wise. But time will tell. Once things were written in stone, I headed to the Total terminal in Olive Branch. They are slowly removing all aspects of USX and Variant from this site. I find that a bit sad. And the moods of my fellow drivers that are hanging around on Christmas eve-eve are not helping at all. I took some time to do extended mediation and self-reflection, but these are stop-gap measures. I am just feeling very out of balance right now.

Trudging

I shut down, at some hot sausage and noodles, and took a nap. It was cold, but it is one of those colds where the actual temperature is 13F, but the truck sees 21F because of the running engine. If I turn it off, the temp drops quickly, but the internal heat does not work. So it makes things uncomfortable. It's very annoying. I can understand the cost-saving measures by a company, but when this comes at the price of the comfort of those that make money for that company, I think that they have made the wrong choice. It would be different if they had a reliable system to fall back on, but not when your life-blood has to fight daily just for basic warmth. I digress...

Finishing the day

After my nap, I had a light meal and a cup of tea before settling in for the night. Instead of a movie or show, I rolled some newer music. Nothing great but it kept me entertained.

Solitude

Alone does not mean lonely. Though I face depression this time of year, I can relate to the self. Yesterday was dark and grainy, and I figured that I would go HIPPY today and show the solitude, but with a positive style. Tomorrow - Christmas day, I will try something festive, assuming I have time.

Christmas Eve

I was able to get a good night's sleep, and I was up and at 'em about three hours ahead of time. I started working on my 2023 list after meditation, Yoga, exercise, and food. I am doing my best to be a bit more structured and organized with my projects. In 2022, a few of them slipped between the cracks. But I think that I have a resolution for that, better recordkeeping.

Break time!

While I was in the dock, I relaxed. The stop/go light on the docks did not work, so I had to watch for them to wave to me. That was four wasted hours. But that is okay. Once I hit Baxter, I loaded up Skype and did a Christmas Eve family call. I have not used Skype in many years. And I had close to 500 missed calls and messages. It was a pain in the ass, but I cleared them. I looked at three of them, and they were nothing that I wanted to see. I cleared those, blocked them, then did the family thing. It was a lot of fun. Not the same as being there, but it will work. Once I cleared that call, I made the choice to head off to bed. It was a bit below 20F, but the heater was cooperating most of the night, so it all worked out. Tomorrow, I have all day, so we shall see what I can knock out and off my list.

Real Angels

Today was a rough day, so I wanted to meditate on Angels for some reason. But you know what? I see angels the way the bible describes them. So all that I saw was a sea of EYES. And this is the result.

Christmas

Not exactly a day of joy. In fact, the first part of the day was annoying as hell. I got up a little after midnight and had a list of things I wanted to get done as long as a baby's arm. Sadly, they required technology. And the tech-Gods of old decided that it would be a good day to do updates. The new computer, the old computer, my phone, the tablet, AND the Roku. The computers and tablet took close to 12 hours to complete, which was very frustrating. But I got past it. I decided to nap at noon and reset the old brain. It worked, then I got up, did a second round of exercise, Yoga, and Meditation, did some artwork, and continued on with the day. I grabbed a shower first thing in the morning, and it was BITTER cold because of the weather. But it's all good. The computer and tech issues really took the wind out of my sails for the day. Once they were all updated, I had no drive to get things done and I took a bump on a log attitude. However, I knew that I was doing it, fought with myself over it, and chose to do it in the end. The only other productive things that I did was rosin by violin bow and practice Sax. I am getting pretty good. Yeah me!

The Coming year

I have one more 34-hour break before the new year. However, because of this run that I am on, I am going to have an extended break later tomorrow or the next day before I go into the reciever. I have to get my crap together for the new year and get my plans fully in place. To that end, I am planning on running hard and trying to make it to the turnpike rest area in New Jersey. I know that they do not have internet and they have some decent food and a Starbucks. It will be a nice and calm place to shut down in one of the states that I don't like to drive in. So I am balancing the good with the bad. We shall see if that works out.

Rolling again

I got up about 90 minutes before logging in. I was a bit tired but ready to roll. I am already ready to get back to some hometime. Weird, I actually like my family. How strange. But that is still about a month away or so. I rolled into Tom's Brook, VA and staged for a short run tomorrow and then a shutdown about 30 minutes from my receiver. I took advantage of the time to cook some fish and veggies. It came out awesome.

The muse again

I am pretty much done with projects for the year, but I can't help tickling those that are sitting for 2023. Of course, I am still working on The Awakening, and I have that slated for completion in 2023. But I am also working on these short stories for the same timeframe. I keep freaking myself out. That is funny as hell. I wonder if King or Koontz ever freak themselves out.

The rest of the story

There is no artwork today because I was not in the mood and I have to update Photoshop. But maybe tomorrow or the next day. We shall see. I shut down, ate my fish, and relaxed before sleep. I was back up and ready to roll just before midnight, so all is right with the world right now. Let's hope it stays this way.

The Muse

When it comes to my muse, she is a snarky, self-centered, controlling bitch. But I love her so. I hit a bit of a block today and turned my attention to the muse once Photoshop was updated. I pictured her in my mind, then put her to pad. And this is the result.

New Jersey

I rolled into New Jersey and avoided a few potentially uncomfortable situations that are not worth mentioning. And then, I took a nap. Three hours and a full brain reset. I planned my route for tomorrow, then broke into my list of lists. I caught up on email, updated blogs, and worked the lists...

WOW

So, I needed food, and chose to hit Wendy's. That was a scary experience. I paid $15 for a cold baconator and soggy, tasteless French Fries. A very disappointing experience.

Progressing through the day

While working on lists, I rolled unfamiliar music so I would not get distracted. Then it was time to relax, so I looked for something to watch. I came across Barbarella, starring Jane Fonda, on Pluto, TV. I have been trying to find that for a while. It was a very nice distraction. While that played, I tuned my Violin, which took close to two hours.

Ending the Day

Once the movie was over, it was back to music and working on setting up the new course that becomes available this weekend. I have a lot of reading to do and quite a few projects, so I figured that I would get a jump on the work. I am only three courses and a capstone away from the end of my Master's degree. Who knows what the world holds beyond that?

And that is the end

There is way too much downtime. I exhausted my TODO list for this weekend and I have to create a new one. And I still had time left. So I did more meditation and Yoga, listened to more music, until even that got boring, and pulled out my 2023 TODO list. I am not sure how much longer I can take these delays, but for now, I am okay.

A vision of desire

A meditation on the core of desire. It is actually interesting that I would find a woman in the meditation because when I consider desire on a conscious level, I rarely consider the human condition. I am more apt to head toward big cats or nature. However, last evening, I dropped myself into a two-hour transcendental state, and this is the result. I used an existing photo, heavily modified, until the muse within told me to stop.
The Second Image
The second image is based on the same meditation when I attempted to break free of the transcendental state and the Dark Goddess (Lilith) whispered to me to stay and observe. The second image was what she showed me. I have included the image here and it is now on my desktop to ponder because I don't really understand it.

New Jersey

The day started weirdly. I was able to get about eight hours of sleep, but toward the end, I had some very weird dreams that involved work and not work at the same time. I was in a dock being unloaded and other drivers working for the place I was delivering were trying to back into the docks. Each time they would cross in front of me, another truck, a cement mixer, would back into them and start to push them backward. When I finally got unloaded, I was talking to the owner or dockmaster, who told me that I could not leave yet because his 15-year-old had not finished with the bills. So he offered me some marshmallows in a trash bag. While taking to him, we were standing in what looked like a pasture, with a 3-rail fence. On the top rail sat a 15-year-old girl, the one that was supposed to be doing the bills. She had long red hair down to her waist and copper eye shadow. She was flirting with me, but I am not sure how I knew that. Her dad, the owner or dockmaster, was oblivious to the fact and wanted, instead, to discuss the quality of the monkey population on the planet and how it was on the decline since they got the right to vote.
Say huh????? Yeah, that one went a little weird don't ya think?

Regaining Sanity

My mood is tedious at best. I rolled in silence without music or audiobook because I was having problems concentrating. I just set my eyes on the road ahead of me and rolled until I could not roll anymore. But I have a new project for January, I think. I am going to do a series of posts about Karma, and my take on them. I will probably add them to Ancient as I go. But I have been thinking seriously about Karma and perspective of the world around me. But what brought this on?

What brought this on?

I do not think of my past often. But the fates have an ironic and sometimes cruel sense of humor. When I left Lakewood, NJ., I had to take highway-70 about 65 miles to get to 295 headed out of the Philadephia area. I did not even think about it, until I got to Cherry Hill. I passed all my old haunts. Chez Robert the, now gone, site where I could have been a great chef, if it had not burned to the ground. It is a nail salon and a Starbucks now. The Mexican Food Factory where I went with Peggy, Louis, Anna, and many others. One of my favorite places to eat when I was younger. Now it is in tatters and a remnant of what it used to be. The Greenbriar Inn where I went on one of my first dates with Peggy and we were forced to sit at different tables because she was drinking age, and I was not. But the most interesting one, and a true flip of the coin of fate, was when I got close to Barrington. There was an incident on I-295 and we had to exit and go around it. It was a slow-roll down Railroad avenue from Lawnside, into Haddon Heights. The same route I used to walk with Joanne, Kathy, Peggy (Patton) and Louis. The route took me within line of site of My old house, and Jenny's house. It was like getting hit with a nostalgia bomb. But it is all behind me now. I used to think of those days as good old days. But no more. They were what brought me to where I am now, but they no longer define me. Is that good? Is it bad? I don't know, it just ... IS...

Tired

Even though I am very tired, I am trying to work on my education and projects daily. Part of this is mastering photoshop and the other tools. Today, I used a wireframe in DAZ3D and added some shadows, turning the figure away from the camera. In Photoshop, I imported the figure and used a pre-designed room scene, adding some light outside the window, and the silly little bowl of fruit denied color and cast into the shade. The lesson for today was realistic shadows. I think that I did pretty well. I am getting good at this, or at least I think so.

Very Tired

I was up early but got almost eight hours of sleep. I took care of the work, ate breakfast and lunch, and was ready to roll. I was not ready to face the day, but I put my mind to it and prepared myself. Sadly, due to the extended work day, it was an all work, no play day.

Solitude

As the year winds down, I meditate on the past and the future. The main theme within me is solitude, but a comfortable solitude. This is not a sadness, just a fact. I understand that I am not alone because I have a wonderful family at home. Even that crazy cat! (Kitska), but I spend most of my time alone in my little prison cell. I think it is starting to get to me, but it is almost over...spoiler...2023 will be a time for new challenges.

Not taking chances

I was out of Commerce as soon as I could be this morning. I did not sleep well, and I could not get back to sleep when I woke up. So I got my butt up, took a shower, and did my laundry while waiting for my timer to reset. I rolled as soon as I was able and hit the dock without issues. They loaded me quickly, and I was back on the road. I had a few annoyances trying to figure out where to take my 34+ hour break for this run, but I think I will shoot for Cumberland, MD. It will be a few miles out of route, but it should work out. Once I cleared the pickup, I was not feeling the drive. There were three accidents right around me, and I did not feel like chancing it, so I shut down in Blacksburg, SC. at the Love's and at dinner. I forgot to pull new food: fish patties and noodles. I double-checked my route and chose an early shut down and a long run tomorrow.

Irony

While I was at Love's, a dentist locked himself out of his Mercedes. I knew he was a dentist because of his license plate and his RUDE bumper sticker that addresses the arrogance of his profession. I was rude back and told him I would unlock his car for $2000. Just pointing out that ((I)) could do something that he could not. In the end I unlocked it for free. But that is not the irony. The irony is that I could really use a dentist right now. I think that I am up to five teeth that need work. Sigh.

The year winds down

There will not be an exit piece of art this year. I tried, but after a few tries, nothing felt right. So the year will end, not with a roar, but with a whimper. But that my be symbolic of the year. There are times when we have to unclench our fists, lay down our arms, and just reflect. And that is today. So I landed in Cumberland, MD. It is a calm place in the mountains of Maryland. Not much around here, except for the Ali Ghan temple. I looked into it and it is a commercialized masonic temple attached to a country club with over priced food and golf. Not really my cup of tea.

Party Animal?

If I am a party animal, it is the SLOTH because I relaxed for about six hours and then went to sleep. I slept right through the New Year. I guess it just doesn't mean that much to me this year. That has been the way that it has been with the entire holiday season. Like it was just good to get it over with. But that is okay, tomorrow is a new year and we shall see where that takes us.